“AB 1239 will help expand the state's tire recycling infrastructure to reduce greenhouse gases, create jobs, and cut the statewide and local costs associated with tire pile cleanup,” said Assemblymember Gordon. “This is an opportunity to have more Californians employed in the recycling industry and have fewer tires in our landfills.”

“Reducing tire pollution at the source is something we can and should do in the state of California,” said Speaker Atkins. “We have seen the cost of the status quo here. We see tires illegally dumped in our environment, including the Tijuana River. We have local governments, including San Diego, paying to clean them up. This bill would put the brakes on these out of control costs to taxpayers and the environment, and at the same time create recycling industry jobs in California.”

“Tires have long been one of the most problematic waste streams,” said Nick Lapis, Legislative Coordinator for Californians Against Waste, which is sponsoring AB 1239. “We applaud Assemblymember Gordon and Speaker Atkins for their leadership and for creating a smart policy that will encourage the recycling of tires, as opposed to contributing to the landfill legacy left for future generations, or the illegal dumping we too often see in our communities.”

AB 1239 would establish a Tire Recycling Incentive Program to provide an incentive payment to end-users of recycled tires as well as manufacturers who produce consumer products using recycled tires. This is a model that has proven successful for other recycled materials (including the state’s Electronic Waste Recycling Program and the Beverage Container Recycling Program), and multiple statewide studies (going back over two decades) have recommended a similar approach to increasing tire recycling.

“Californians generate 42 million passenger tires every single year, and the management of these tires has proven difficult,” said Lapis. “Illegally dumped tires pose a significant cost to local governments and the state, large abandoned tire piles can result in weeks-long fires, and the recycling rate has remained largely stagnant for several years.”

AB 1239 now goes to the Senate.

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Californians Against Waste is a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving resources, preventing pollution and protecting the environment through the development, promotion and implementation of waste reduction and recycling policies and programs. Visit www.cawrecycles.org.com to learn more.